Our own version of Sheriff Joe Arpaio is suffering from penis envy over Arizona’s new immigration laws:

In response to the Ohio governor’s vow to veto any Arizona-like immigration legislation, Butler County’s sheriff and a local lawmaker say they’ll take the issue directly to voters.

Sheriff Richard K. Jones announced today, April 29, he will spearhead efforts to have a statewide “citizens initiative” placed on the ballot for Ohio immigration reform.

Fearing recent letters he sent jointly with state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, to Ohio leaders won’t be enough to get immigration reform on the “fast track” for Ohio, Jones said he wants the voters to decide the issue in November.

Recently Jones made other immigration news:

An undocumented immigrant worker who sued Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones for violating his constitutional rights has been awarded $100,000 in a settlement agreement.

The settlement filed in U.S. District Court stems from the 2007 arrest of Luis Rodriguez, 44, formerly of Lebanon, when he and others were rounded by at a Port Union Road construction site by Butler County deputies and a former immigration specialist hired by Jones.

Officials said they were at the site to talk to a supervisor about undocumented workers, but Rodriguez and more than 20 others were interrogated and asked to provide identification, according to Rodriguez’s attorney, Al Gerhardstein, who posted the settlement Tuesday, April 20 on his firm’s website.

Gerhardstein said his client, who had lived in Butler County for 11 years, was arrested and charged with providing a false identification and deported to Mexico, though he was later acquitted of the charge.

Yup – he really wants to be Sheriff Joe.